In Search of Coffee Time

“Suave molecules of Mocha stir up your blood, without causing excess heat; the organ of thought receives from it a feeling of sympathy; work becomes easier and you will sit down without distress to your principal repast which will restore your body and afford you a calm, delicious night. “

Coffee is magic – and one does not have to hold Talleyrand’s verbosity to appreciate the supernatural drink. It makes many men happy. It makes many men thoughtful. It keeps us all up (and going). Most of all – coffee is a communal drink. It tastes better in the company of others. Whether among my friends or fellow cafficionados in a random café, I am glad to enjoy the pleasant excuse to spend time with others, the excuse that coffee so generously offers. With a sip of tasteful coffee, in a nice coffeeplace, I think better, study better – and, perhaps most importantly, feel better.

Without a Japanese family (as enjoyed by my fellows in Hokkaido or Kanazawa), I have often felt “out of touch” with the Japanese culture. Please, do not get me wrong – spending time with other Yallies has been a blast. We cook for each other; we go out with each other; we study together. Nonetheless, recently, Tokyo began to feel like a big US Embassy Housing Compound. It’s sort of Japanese but not really. A little bit like a roll of sushi with peanut butter; sashimi with apple sauce or plum wine in a Budweiser can. In an attempt to compensate for the absence of Japan in Japan’s capital, I tried to watch Japanese films. Soon, however, I figured out that I did really not have to come all the way to the Land of the Rising Sun in order to watch Miyazaki’s newest release. Then, I tried to go out to Japanese bars and clubs, but found myself surrounded by American marines and German tourists. Hanging out in the Shinjuku garden proved equally fruitless – when attempting to converse with fellow gardeners, I often overlooked the fact that the many Japanese couples were more interested in conversing with each other; more specifically, in my search for meaningful friendships, I found myself blocking romantic attempts between the girls and boys I encountered in the peaceful settings of the Shinjuku garden. Well, too bad.

Many of my fellow Bulldogs in Tokyo seem to have resigned to their peanut-butter-sushi status. Whether indulging in regular “Top Gun- Rocky – Home Alone” movie nights or participating in an expat’s favorite activity, Beer Pong, many Yallies seemed to be reconciled with the diet version of Tokyo that many of us have long been complaining about….

Well… not me. With father Hope and mother Invention, I decided to embark on the epic search for genuine Nippon. Hopeful and inventive, I tried to syncretize my love for koohi with attempts to get out of the apple-sauce-sashimi bubble. And the fruits of my search have proved sweeter than the Peach-juice-infused-Chicken-breasts that the two Matts cooked two days ago.

Following recommendations in my city guide, I decided to study in a different Tokyo coffee place every day. In the search for a place to study, to rest, and to learn about Tokyoites, I found myself discovering a great deal about Japan – or at least about my perceptions of the great Archipelago. In the search for perfect coffee time, I have made friends with like-minded kids from Tokyo while at the same time observing that what I most enjoy about Nippon, Japan’s ability to borrow things from other countries, put them together in a fascinating mix while adding a certain contour of its own. In the search for coffee time, I experienced for the first time my own version of “Tokyo – Je t’aime.” Well-caffeinated and geared up to explore, I began to take pride in the city in which I have spent the past six weeks; I began to feel ready to put on a Japanesque variation of the famous New York City T-Shirt, ready for the my own version of

I ❤

Tokyo

Finding the right coffee place begins with the search for the coffee place. Seeking a site of respite has proved as interesting as enjoying a cup of coffee once inside. I have learned that the best coffee places in Tokyo are not the dazzling well-known establishments in Ginza or Roppongi. Instead, I found the most interesting people and the best coffee environment in little “dingholes” – small gems hidden in little street of Shibuya, Naka Meguro or Shinjuku’s Golden Gai. Likewise, my fellow Tokyoites seem to enjoy the intimacy of a familiar place – not a chain but an independent establishment, not an overwhelming European style coffee but a friendly Kissaten. In fact, I would argue that the best places are the ones that are the most difficult to find. Concealed from the sight of ferocious Shibuya 109-consumers, often hidden in little basements or not-so easily accessible upper floors, these places are a little bit like their regular customers – not so approachable at first sight, but ever more honest and enjoyable once discovered. Or even better – like the super-complicated Japanese alphabet with its four different writing systems, Japanese kissaten, once discovered, provided a satisfaction equal only to deciphering a sentence encrypted in Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana and Romaji characters.

Visiting Tokyo coffee places can offer interesting insights into Japanese aesthetics. Whereas coffee places in Prague and Vienna dazzle the visitors with lavish art-nouveau décor and the Parisian cafes with classic simplicity, Tokyo kissatens are post-modern in the literary sense – constantly redefining the definition of modern aesthetics, exploring the relationship between the West and Japan, referring to the past while questioning the present. Shibuya’s favorite, Café Zarigami is a great example of a “post-modern” coffee shrine. Upon entering, one is overwhelmed by raw references to the long passed industrial age – pseudo-rusty pipes run from the floor to ceiling serving as a vestige to a time where it all might have begun (at least from a perspective of a modern Tokyoite…). Wooden bookshelves contain French classics as well as contemporary Japanese novels. Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis lies next to Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore; Proust’s In Search of Lost Time on the top of a Ozu’s Tokyo Story DVD. Meticulous high-tech speakers play Astrud Gilberto’s lounge music. Imitations of Le Corbusier’s chairs next to tatami pads, and most of all – the delicious coffee that only adds the missing element to the 5D experience.

In their eclecticism, Tokyo kissatens might epitomize the beauty of modern Japan – the country’s ability to take in what is good and make it even better. Somehow raw rusty waterpipes do not intimidate but draw one’s interest. Somehow Brazilian lounge music does not sound cheesy but inviting. Somehow the piles of great books do not appear superficial but genuinely intellectual. Somehow the mishmash of a Japanese café does not look like a mess but like an interesting experiment in post-modern syncretism.

Maybe, the Tokyo kissatens stand for Tokyo at its best. Like Japan’s wild capital, they bustle with creative energy – which may not be immediately palpable but IS nevertheless; creativity that springs from the respectful borrowing from other cultures while adding a Japanese element. Like Tokyo, the numerous little coffee shrines do not open themselves up easily; but once they do, they are as warm and tasteful as the coffee they sell. So next time, you come to Tokyo, just let the suave molecules of Mocha stir up your blood, while wishing your fellow koohi aficionados a friendly “itadakimasu!”